[Photo provided to China Daily]

Zhou was born and raised in Nanchang, East China's Jiangxi province. She won first place in a TV-hosting competition held by CCTV in 1995 and came to Beijing that year. At 26, she produced her first show, Childhood, which interviewed celebrities about their younger days. It was the first of its kind on Chinese TV and also made Zhou popular as a host.

"I'm not afraid of failure and I am a very optimistic person," says Zhou, who attributes her personality's development to her sister, who is six years older. "I grew up in the shadow of my sister because she was always the top student in school. I was usually compared with her in the family, by our teachers and others.

"But I wasn't unhappy. On the contrary, I like being different and creative, and surprising people."

She also attributed the success of her plays to her son, who is 10 now. She considers her two plays as gifts to him.